148. Cliff Richard and the Shadows – Summer Holiday (1963)

The Beatles came one step closer to conquering the world on 22 March when they released their debut album, Please Please Me. Their label, Parlophone Records, were keen to capitalise on the success of Love Me Do, and their follow-up single that shared the album’s title. To this day, it angers many Beatles fans that the single Please Please Me is not considered an official number 1. That’s a story for another time, however…

As one era was beginning, another was coming to an end. Summer Holiday marked the last time Cliff would make it to number 1 with the Shadows. He would continue to work with them occasionally, and obviously, further solo number 1s were to come, but the film, album and song sharing this name were the high watermark of Cliff’s career, and like Elvis, from here on in he was no longer guaranteed a number 1. He had to work for it.

Cliff’s latest film was a massive money-spinner at the box office, eventually becoming the biggest of the year. The Next Time/Bachelor Boy were both from the movie, and had been the first number 1 of 1963. The title track, written by rhythm guitarist Bruce Welch and drummer Brian Bennett, was so catchy, it must have been a shoe-in to be their next single, and two months after the film’s release, it rocketed to the top.

I’ve not been shy of criticising Cliff Richard in my blogs, because I feel he’s let me down somewhat. I was hoping some of these early chart-toppers would be similar to Move It, but too many have been bland, generic and safe. But it’s impossible to dislike Summer Holiday, even after all these years of exposure to it, on countless TV shows and adverts. You can find it amusing, sure, but in an affectionate way. How can you tire of a song that looks ahead to getting away from all your troubles, even if it is just ‘for a week or two’? The lack of edge to Cliff, Hank and co works in their favour on this track, and with its release coming straight off the back of one of the longest winters this country has ever seen, there’s no wonder the public took it to so much. It’ll probably always be considered Cliff’s best song, and is now a part of British culture, subject to countless spoofs. My first exposure to it came via Kevin the Gerbil in 1984. Kevin was the companion of 80s puppet superstar Roland Rat, and this version was one of my first ever pieces of vinyl. Summer Holiday was also interpolated into the terrible but highly amusing Holiday Rap by Dutch duo MC Miker G & DJ Sven in 1986.

After a fortnight at the top, Cliff found himself in the unlikely situation of being knocked off the top by his backing band, for the second time in a few months. More on that in the next blog.

The charts weren’t the only place in which change was coming. On 27 March, Dr Richard Beeching, the Chairman of British Railways, issued a report on drastic cuts to the rail network. This infamous report predicted the closure of over 2000 railway stations, plus the scrapping of 8000 coaches and the loss of 68,000 jobs. This was not the age of the train.

Written by: Bruce Welch & Brian Bennett

Producer: Norrie Paramor

Weeks at number 1: 3 (14-27 March, 4-10 April)

Births:

Actor Jerome Flynn – 16 March
Actor David Thewlis – 20 March
DJ Andrew Weatherall – 6 April
Musician Julian Lennon – 8 April 

Deaths:

Economist William Beveridge – 16 March